Electric refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator has a refrigerating chamber ( 2 ) and a freezing chamber ( 3 ). The freezing chamber ( 2 ) is provided with plural drawer door bodies ( 7, 8 ) and a sealing member ( 5 ). The sealing member ( 5 ) is used for sealing a clearance between the adjacent two drawer door bodies ( 7, 8 ). The sealing member ( 5 ) is provided at an opening of the freezing chamber ( 4 ) and comprises a support frame ( 5   a ) and a decorative plate ( 5   c ).

FILED OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, in particular to arefrigerator with a drawer door body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A refrigerator, as a household refrigerating/freezing device, is beingcurrently used by a large majority of families, The refrigerator isclassified into many types, one type of which is designed as locating afreezing chamber on the upper side of the refrigerator and arefrigerating chamber on the lower side of the refrigerator, and anothertype of which is designed as locating a freezing chamber on the lowerside of the refrigerator and a refrigerating chamber on the upper sideof the refrigerator. As for the latter type of refrigerator, the doorbody of the freezing chamber is classified into several types of asingle door body, a double door body, or a drawer type door body, etc.

In recent years, a refrigerator, commonly referred to as a Frenchopposite-opening door refrigerator, emerges. The upper part of saidrefrigerator is a refrigerating chamber which is enclosed by a set ofopposite-opening doors, and the lower part thereof is a freezing chamberwhich is enclosed by a drawer type door body. In order to obtain largerstorage space, the freezing chamber at the lower part of this type ofrefrigerator is generally designed to have a relatively large volume.

During realizing the present invention, the inventor found that at leastthe following problem is present in the prior art: since the freezingchamber is merely provided with one drawer door body for accommodatingobjects, when pulling the drawer door body forward and taking outobjects, the whole freezing chamber is open to external environment,resulting in excessive leakage of cool air, thereby prolonging thesubsequent refrigerating process or frequently starting up arefrigerating system, so as to cause more consumption of electricenergy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the object of the present invention is to providea refrigerator having one freezing chamber and plural drawing-pullingdoor bodies.

In order to realize the above object, one embodiment of the presentinvention provides a refrigerator having a refrigerating chamber and afreezing chamber, wherein the freezing chamber is provided with pluraldrawer door bodies and sealing members; and the sealing member is usedfor sealing a clearance between adjacent drawer door bodies. In thisway, the internal structure of the freezing chamber is notreconstructed, but only a sealing member is added at the opening part.Therefore, each time that one drawer door body is opened for taking outan object, the opening of the freezing chamber laid open to the externalenvironment is relatively small to reduce cool air leakage and energyconsumption.

Preferably, the sealing member is provided at the opening of thefreezing chamber, and comprises a support frame and a decorative plate.Arranging the sealing member at the opening allows a simple structureand easy assembly. Moreover, the sealing member comprises a supportframe and a decorative plate, with the support frame capable of having abetter supporting function and the decorative plate abutting against thedrawer door body for sealing.

Preferably, a mounting trough is formed on the support frame; a thermalpreservation bar is provided between the support frame and thedecorative plate; and the thermal preservation bar is provided in themounting trough of the support frame. By using such a structure, bettereffects of thermal preservation and heat insulation can be achieved andthe leakage of cool air from the freezing chamber can be furtherprevented.

Preferably, plural reinforced ribs are provided in the mounting troughof the support frame. Thus, the strength of the support frame can beimproved.

Preferably, an auxiliary sealing bar is provided on the surface of theside of the thermal preservation bar adjacent to the decorative plate.In this way, the effects of thermal preservation and heat insulation canbe improved better and the leakage of cool air from the freezing chambercan be further prevented.

Preferably, through holes are provided on the end parts of the supportframe and the decorative plate, and the support frame and the decorativeplate are mounted via bolts passing through the through holes onto theopening of the freezing chamber of the refrigerator. In this way, theassembly structure is further simplified.

Preferably, the drawer door bodies are divided into two sets. Byarranging two sets of drawer door bodies, the door bodies are made to beless, which allows more utilization of the space of the freezingchamber.

Preferably, the refrigerating chamber is enclosed by a set ofopposite-opening door bodies. So taking out the objects inside therefrigerating chamber is easy.

Preferably, the refrigerating chamber is arranged at the upper part, andthe freezing chamber is arranged at the lower part.

Plural drawer door bodies are provided in the freezing chamber and asealing member is provided between adjacent drawer door bodies. In thisway, on one hand, only one freezing chamber is provided, whichfacilitates the overall design of the refrigerator and the layout of therefrigeration units; and on the other hand, plural drawer door bodiesare provided, each of which can be opened and closed independently.Thus, when each drawer door body is opened separately, the freezingchamber only has an opening part corresponding to the drawer door bodyopening to the external environment, thereby reducing cool air leakageand accordingly reducing energy consumption. In addition, providingplural drawer door bodies means that plural drawers are available, suchthat the objects are accommodated more assortatively, for facilitatingutilization for a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the refrigerator in FIG. 1 when thelower drawer thereof is pulled out; and

FIG. 3 is an explanatory exploding view of partition bars of a sealingmember.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the refrigerator of the present inventionis described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in thefollowing description, if no special explanation is made, the so-calledleft side and right side represent the left hand side and the right handside of a person facing the refrigerator, and the upper side and thelower side represent an upper side and a lower side based on humansensory feeling.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is an embodiment of a refrigerator 1 of thepresent invention. Said refrigerator 1 is commonly called as a Frenchrefrigerator, viz. the upper part of the refrigerator 1 is arefrigerating chamber 2, which, thus, facilitates operation. Obviously,the refrigerating chamber 2 can also be located at the lower part of therefrigerator 1, whose opening is enclosed by a set of opposite-openingdoor bodies 2 a, 2 b. The lower part of the refrigerator 1 is a freezingchamber 3, which is also shown in FIG. 2. Of course, the freezingchamber 3 of the refrigerator 1 can also be located at the upper part.The opening of the freezing chamber 3 is enclosed by two drawer doorbodies 7, 8. Obviously, the drawer door body of the freezing chamber 3can be divided into three or more drawer door bodies. In addition,although it is not indicated in detail in the figure, said freezingchamber 3 is a single freezing chamber. In other words, said freezingchamber 3 performs the refrigeration by one refrigeration unit (no shownin the figure). The spaces corresponding to the above two drawer doorbodies are communicated with each other.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, a cool drink supply mechanism isprovided at the left door body 2 a of the opposite-opening door bodies 2a, 2 b. Since the mechanism is only slightly related with the inventivekey of the present invention, the description related to the mechanismis omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment of the present invention provides arefrigerator 1 comprising a refrigerating chamber 2 and a freezingchamber 3, wherein the freezing chamber 3 is provided with plural drawerdoor bodies 7, 8 and a sealing member 5; and the sealing member 5 isused for sealing a clearance between the adjacent drawer door bodies 7,8. In this way, when each drawer door body is opened independently, theopening of the freezing chamber 3 only has the part corresponding to thedrawer door body opening to the external environment, thereby reducingcool air leakage and accordingly reducing energy consumption. Arrangingplural drawer door bodies implies that plural drawers are available,such that the objects are accommodated more assortatively, facilitatingutilization of the user.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the refrigerating chamber is located atthe upper part and the freezing chamber 3 is located at the lower part.In this way, the refrigerating chamber 2 with higher utilization rate isplaced at the position of easy opening/closing, which facilitates usage.Of course, the freezing chamber 3 can also be located at the upper part,and the refrigerating chamber 2 can also be located at the lower part.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting trough is provided in the right and leftedges of the opening of the freezing chamber 3, respectively. A sealingmember 5 is mounted at the opening of the freezing chamber by themounting troughs. The sealing member 5 partitions the opening 4 into anupper opening 4 a and a lower opening 4 b. As described above, althoughthe opening 4 of the freezing chamber 3 is partitioned to form the upperopening 4 a and the lower opening 4 b, the inner sides thereof arecommunicated with each other. In addition, the drawer door body 7corresponds to the upper opening 4 a, and the drawer door body 8corresponds to the lower opening 4 b. When the drawer door body 7 ispushed in the direction indicated by an arrow into the upper opening 4a, a sealing bar (not shown) mounted on the face of the side of thedrawer door body 7 adjacent to the freezing chamber 3 is used forsealing the upper opening 4 a. When the drawer door body 8 is pushed inthe direction indicated by an arrow in the figure into the lower opening4 b, a sealing bar (not shown) mounted on the drawer door body 8 is usedfor sealing the lower opening. These two sealing bars can be arranged inmany manners of the prior art. No description thereof is made herein.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a square drawer is provided andconnected to the drawer door body 7, and a sealing bar is mounted at theside of the drawer door body 7 adjacent to the drawer (inner surfaceside). Sliding rails 7 a (although only one sliding rail is indicated inthe figure, the other identical sliding rail is provided on the otherside) are mounted at two sides of the drawer. Said sliding rails 7 a fitwith guide rails 7 b mounted at the corresponding position of the innerwall of the freezing chamber 3 (only the right guide rail is shown inthe figure, however, a guide rail is provided at the left side of theinner wall as well). The drawer door body 7 is supported and guided bythe guide rails 7 b. Since the connection and fitting relationshipsbetween the sliding rails 7 a and the guide rails 7 b are the prior art,no description thereof is made herein.

In addition, a drawer with a square opening is also mounted at thedrawer door body 8.

Due to the structure of the refrigerator, the lower the position of thedrawer is, the smaller the area of the cross section thereof in ahorizontal direction is. Similar to the structure of the above drawerdoor body 7, two sliding rails 8 a are also arranged in the drawer doorbody 8. Moreover, two guide rails 8 b are also arranged at thecorresponding position of the inner wall of the freezing chamber 3.Since the structure thereof is similar to that of the above drawer doorbody 7 and is a common structure in the prior art, no descriptionthereof is made herein.

Hereinafter, the particular structure of the sealing member 5 of thepresent invention is described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the sealing member 5, there are sequentiallyprovided a support frame 5 a, a thermal preservation bar 5 b, and adecorative plate 5 c in a direction from the freezing chamber 3 to theexternal environment.

The support frame 5 a is an elongated member, inside which a mountingtrough 15 a is formed. Thus, its longitudinal cross sectionapproximately renders a U shape, with one side being opening and theother side of a curved surface. Two through holes 21, 21 are provided atboth ends of the support frame 5 a. In addition, plural reinforced ribs25 a are formed at the inner side of the support frame 5 a along theinterior of the mounting through 15 a. As shown in FIG. 3, since thesupport frame 5 a is in a thin plate structure, these reinforced ribs 25a are provided to further enhance its strength and ability of standingagainst deformation and twist. In addition, the structure of saidsupport frame 5 a is not limited thereto, but can merely be in form of athin plate with plural reinforced ribs formed around its periphery and amounting hole formed in the middle.

The thermal preservation bar 5 b is also a elongated member, with thelength equivalent to or slightly smaller than the length of the abovemounting trough 15 a, the width equivalent to or slightly smaller thanthe gap (the width of the mounting trough 15 a in the up and downdirection) formed by the above reinforced ribs 25 a in the up and downdirection, and the thickness equivalent to or slightly smaller than thedepth of the reinforced rib 25 a in a horizontal direction. Therefore,the thermal preservation bar 5 b can be embedded into the above mountingtrough 15 a.

In addition, auxiliary sealing bars 15 b, 15 b, extending along thehorizontal direction, are arranged on the face of the thermalpreservation bar 5 b adjacent to the outer side. Moreover, the height ofthe auxiliary sealing bars 15 b, 15 b is designed to satisfy thefollowing conditions, viz. when an adjusting bar is mounted in themounting trough 15 a, the auxiliary sealing bars 15 b, 15 b protrudemore outwardly than the support frame 5 a and abut against thedecorative plate 5 c.

The decorative plate 5 c is an elongated flat member made of resin,metal or other hard materials. When the decorative plate 5 c is mountedonto the support frame 5 a, its inner surface abuts against theauxiliary sealing bars 15 b, 15 b of the thermal preservation bar 5 b.Moreover, the thermal preservation bar 5 b is sandwiched between thedecorative plate 5 c and the support frame 5 a. In addition, thedecorative plate 5 c is provided with though holes 22, 22 at both ends,and when the decorative plate 5 c is mounted onto the support frame 5 awith the thermal preservation bar 5 b interposed therebetween, thethrough holes 22, 22 correspond to the through holes 21, 21 of themounting frame 5 a, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the bolts 23, 23 pass through the through holes22, 22 and the through holes 21, 21 to fix the sealing member 5 into themounting trough on the edge of the opening 4 of the freezing chamber 3,said decorative plate 5 c substantially flushes with the opening 4 ofthe freezing chamber 3 in a forth and back direction,. Thus, when thedrawer door body 7 (or drawer door body 8) is closed, the sealing barmounted on the drawer door body 7 (or the drawer door body 8) abutsagainst the decorative plate 5 c and the opening 4 of the freezingchamber 3 to realize sealing the upper opening 4 a (or the lower opening4 b) of the freezing chamber 3.

In addition, the drawer door bodies 7, 8 are coupled to and mounted inthe freezing chamber 3 via sliding rails in the above embodiments,however, it is not limited thereto. Other types of door bodies can beused, for example, a door body which can be opened directly, a slidingdoor, etc.

The descriptions above are only preferable embodiments of the presentinvention, which are not used to restrict the present invention. Anyamendments, equivalent substitutions, improvements etc. within thespirit and principle of the present invention are all concluded in thescope of protection of the present invention.

1. A refrigerator, comprising a refrigerating chamber (2) and a freezingchamber (3), characterized in that, the freezing chamber (3) is providedwith plural drawer door bodies (7, 8) and a sealing member (5) forsealing the clearance between the adjacent drawer door bodies (7, 8). 2.The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, thesealing member (5) is provided at an opening of the freezing chamber (4)and comprises a support frame (5 a) and a decorative plate (5 c).
 3. Therefrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that, a mountingtrough (15 a) is formed in the support frame (5 a); a thermalpreservation bar (5 b) is provided between the support frame (5 a) andthe decorative plate (5 c); and the thermal preservation bar (5 b) isprovided in the mounting trough (15 a) of the support frame (5 a). 4.The refrigerator according to claim 3, characterized in that, pluralreinforced ribs (25 a) are provided in the mounting trough (15 a) of thesupport frame (5 a).
 5. The refrigerator according to claim 3 or claim4, characterized in that, an auxiliary sealing bar (15 b) is provided onthe surface of the side of the thermal preservation bar (5 b) adjacentto the decorative plate (5 c).
 6. The refrigerator according to any oneof claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, through holes (21, 22) areprovided on the end parts of the support frame (5 a) and the decorativeplate (5 c), and the support frame (5 a) and the decorative plate (5 c)are mounted via bolts (23) passing through the through holes (21, 22)onto the opening of the freezing chamber (4) of the refrigerator.
 7. Therefrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized inthat, the drawer door bodies (7, 8) are provided as two sets.
 8. Therefrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized inthat, the refrigerating chamber (2) is enclosed by a set ofopposite-opening door bodies (2 a, 2 b).
 9. The refrigerator accordingto any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, the refrigeratingchamber (2) is arranged at the upper part, and the freezing chamber (3)is arranged at the lower part.